Tough

Thirty years ago I packed up my laptop computer (it weighed about 20 pounds) my Canada-US Free Trade Agreement draft text (300 pages) and Dorothy, and headed to a swishy lakeside resort. “This is work,” I said to her, gravely. “It will not be pleasant to be with me. So we might as well be in a nice place. Take some magazines.”

Three days later, it was over. The entire FTA had been reduced to a folksy 8-page brochure called “A Citizen’s Guide to Free Trade.” As a newly-minted Progressive Conservative candidate, I brashly sent a copy off to the prime minister, Brian Mulroney, who was getting his ass handed to him by the Liberal contender, John Turner (not my dad). “This is the fight of my life,” the Grit had said during leadership debates, and his party was making huge gains running TV ads showing the evil Cons erasing the Canada-US border.

So Mulroney, to my shock, ordered the party to print about a million of these guides, which went to PC candidates across the land to hand out. Good thing, since the anti-free-traders were telling people the deal would mean Canada must sell its water, trash the dairy industry, open the cultural floodgates, let US multinationals dominate our economy and totally lose national sovereignty.

The Cons are traitors, said the Libs. Without a trade agreement we’ll be squished, Mulroney replied. What are you afraid of?

So the Tories won (me too) and we’ve had free trade with the States for three decades. FTA became NAFTA, and now it’s the USMCA. And only recently has Dorothy started to forgive me.

What’s in this new deal? Nothing much to get fussed about, it seems. Tweaks, adjustments, a bunch of angry farmers and lots of relieved car guys. The main news is that the agony of negotiations is over and a whole lot of economic uncertainty has lifted. Any deal, as far as markets are concerned, is better than no deal. So the border stays open, auto tariffs won’t happen and Trumpian protectionism is stuffed back in the bottle for now.

More importantly – unless you have cows – is what the USMCA means to your finances and investments. It turns out (as usual) that this is a mixed blessing.

For example, the forex guys liked the deal and pushed the Canadian dollar ahead smartly when it was announced. Now back over 78 cents US, this also reflects the new LNG deal going ahead for the crazy left coast of the country. For the equity markets, trade deals are as good as trade wars are bad. So while Bay Street advanced a little after the agreement was hatched, the Dow took off – swelling by more than 200 points. Why? It’s a big political win for Trump. First he pissed off the entire world, played the bully and threatened economic chaos. Now he’s making deals. And even if they’re mediocre, same-as-before agreements, he takes a victory lap and everyone’s relieved. One more to go – China – and the market reaction could be sharp, indeed. Invest the money. Stay invested.

The big news out of this deal will be Canadian interest rates. Given what happened Sunday night, the odds of another jump in the cost of money on October 24th are running around 100%. “The deal paves the way for a rate hike by the Bank of Canada this month, and a follow-up move that we now see coming in January,” says CIBC’s chief economist. Meanwhile Doug Porter at BeeMo adds that USMCA “is a major relief for Canada, lifting a heavy cloud of uncertainty from the outlook… Suffice it to say that this deal, along with last week’s solid run of data, all but cements a rate hike at the next policy announcement on Oct. 24, barring something truly shocking over the next three weeks. While rate hikes will likely stay gradual, the pace may pick up slightly more than previously expected over the coming year.”

In fact the bank now sees four hikes ahead: this month, January, April and July. Mortgages will be about 1% more expensive, and the stress test will float around 6.5%. For a residential real estate market that’s already slow, uncertain and suffering a sales slump, the writing’s on the wall. The new trade deal does not destroy a lot of jobs (just a few unemployed cattle), but it also doesn’t yield anything we did not already have.

By the way, on election day in 1988 the five-year mortgage rate was 12%.

So shut up and be happy this is now.

About the picture...

Just saw this pup with his/her equally cute owner (with hidden abs?),” says blog dog Joyce, “and thought you might like the pic. I just took it in downtown Reykjavik.”

So we’re not pooched? I’m confused. RE hasn’t blown up Nafta hasn’t either. Stocks neither. Jobs nope. More companies building offices. Rates still low increasing snail pace may even reverse in future. Where’s all the cause for the past 5 years of poochness warning? I think you should start talking about all the good things in this blog go forward. I think we’ve got the best opportunities in this country and cheap RE. So buy invest and live your life. After all pooched backwards is de-choop!

Thank you for free trade. I definitely voted conservative in that election. That would have been in the Halifax riding.

From memory, John Turner lost the television debate badly when he said he “had no choice” but to appoint a bunch of Trudeau nominees for the Senate or something like that.

Another clear memory. People interviewed on the street the morning after the debate were divided as to who won or lost the debate. By evening after the media talked all day about “I had no choice” , and “You had a choice sir” being the defining moment of the debate everyone interviewed on the street suddenly agreed that yes John Turner had lost the debate. I realized at that moment the power of the media!

– Retained independent dispute resolution (that Mexico traded away – WTF!?)
– Had to settle for managed trade on autos, but at least the quotas are about double what they used to be
– Dairy industry access up to 3.6% (from currently 3.25%).

I get that the dairy industry considers this a ‘gut punch’ and a betrayal, but that logic is also indicative of an industry whose primary intent is to keep things exactly as they are… forever.

Those days are long gone. The Canadian dairy industry can make up what it has lost through a variety of means: branding, selling up-market, and into niche markets, selling internationally. There’s a lot of opportunity out there for those that are willing to take it.

What kind of moral code would try to block or severely limit other law-abiding and willing to contribute humans from coming to our mostly empty land especially when GDP per capita tends to rise with immigration and higher population?

If Canada did not let in a reasonable number each year I would say that the poor of the world would be morally (though not legally) right to storm the border.

“Immigration levels – less than 1% of the population – have not changed in a generation. Without new blood, our population would go in reverse. Be thankful people wish to come here. – Garth”

-I agree with this statement. I see them everyday in my line of work. Risk everything to come here, sponsor the family, work hard at supporting the kids while they are in school and get older. Kids succeed and become successful proud Canadians. Pretty awesome to watch.

We should all breathe a sigh of relief. The NAFTA uncertainty was weighing down on everything. The average person didn’t notice, but the business community certainly did. The uncertainty was weighing on confidence, the dollar, the markets, interest rates and everything in between.

T2 should get some credit here. It basically came down to the auto sector VS the dairy farmers and he made the right choice.

I was expecting the Canadian equity markets to do a lot better today. The uncertainty of NAFTA going away has been hanging over the Canadian markets all year. Now there is certainty and that the status quo will continue. I would have expected a big relief rally in Canada.

But the Canadian markets were up just 0.25% today. Year to date, the whole Canadian market is up about 1.5% while the US equities market overall is up about 10.5% year to date (both figures are total return).

The craziest sounding one is that if we want to make a deal with China we need to give the USA 3 months notice, and if they don’t like it then USMCA gets torn up?
_ _ _
There was no way a Canadian team was going to “win” with Trump in the White House. It was a matter of limiting the damage. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was a Conservative or NDP government doing the negotiating instead of the Liberals.

That condition is actually a blessing. We should be very careful about getting too close and dependent on trade with the CPC. If you don’t like American bullying tactics on weaker partners, you could be put in re education camp for complaining about theirs .

“The media has been quick to label the deal with Canada – called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA – a “win” for Trump, but the truth is that for all his bluster, Nafta hasn’t been “renegotiated” so much as it’s been fiddled with on the margins. ”

Meh! Mr Market doesn’t seem to care one way or another about Trump’s USMCA deal. Mr Market knows that Trump is untrustworthy and will continue with tariffs, deal or no deal, as his mood suits him.
__ __ __ __

Trump’s tariff temper-tantrums undermined negotiations, particulary for the Americans. Freeland could simply point out the obvious. What is the point of a trade deal when the President is using an obscure legal loophole to level tariffs declaring (ridiculously) that Canadian steel and aluminum are a clear and present threat to national security?

I estimate half my small town is into real estate in some form. If real estate tanks you are looking at 50% unemployment…..

Exageration? Think about it. In 2008 in Florida most trades went down – hard. a million layoffs they estimated at the time. Then the public sector jobs went south from no revenue, and the cascade continued….

Look at your town – think about who you know who is connected in any way to realestate including the bureaucracies and public unions….

The revenue it produces is staggering….
The losses will be just the same….

#21 MF on 10.01.18 at 5:43 pm
We should all breathe a sigh of relief. The NAFTA uncertainty was weighing down on everything. The average person didn’t notice…

—

You are wrong, i don’t know who you are hanging out with but all my buddies car, steel, and other industries and those about to retire and retired NOTICED. Average person did notice much more than you think, and me thinks it wont forget it any time soon.

It still astonishes me how real estate bulls never use any math to justify their optimism. Or perhaps they already have the downpayments and the income and they assume, by extension, that everyone else has similar means. Or they assume that a barrage of high tech jobs will appear to magically to vacuum up all the presale condos from overextended speculators.

A 120k pre tax income and a downpayment of 160k will get you and 800k residence with a mortgage payment of about 2750. That’s assuming expenses of zero and an interest rate of 3.14% over 30 years. You can look this up on ratehub.

You’re after tax income is about 86k. After mortgage you have 53k left . Subtract property taxes /condo fees / insurance / basic living expenses such a food, transportation, etc you might have some savings left. If you have daycare at 1k per child per month, well, you’re kind of screwed. Two kids will mean you have 25k left for you and your spouse.

You better earn much more than 120k per year to comfortably own a 2 bedroom condo in the GTA or the GVRD

Oh, and with the stress test you will only qualify for 675k. Hmmm. Is there a wave of immigrants with 200k downpayments and 150k jobs coming?

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slowdown in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.
In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as: NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf 4.1.
Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and House cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.
Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.
What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate

Dear Desperate,
First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.
Please enter command: ‘I thought you loved me.html’ and try to download Tears 6.2. Do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5.
However, remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to
Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program
that will download the Farting and Snoring Beta version.
Whatever you do, DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Mother-In-Law 1.0 as it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.
In addition, please do not attempt to re-install the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported
applications and will crash Husband 1.0.
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.
You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance.
We recommend Cooking 3.0.

So happy to see the Picture of the man and his Pup in Iceland. I’ll be there this next year! Could not fathom a place without Pups.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was in Iceland this past summer – very nice place, if expensive, but self-catering meals can keep costs down.

Reason I wrote: Iceland has many heritage animal breeds, that trace lineage purely back at least at thousand years. Some Purebred Icelandic Sheep Dogs have 6 toes on each paw (Polydactyl) like the Norwegian lundehunds. 5 toes plus the dew claw on each foot. If they have this trait, the government does not allow them to be spayed or neutered, so the genes can be passed on. Its the pups civic duty to breed, I guess. Not that they mind that much.

Cool, right?

Also, I have never seen an entire nation of people that treated their animals so well.

Big yawn on the trade front. Not much has changed. Trump gets to do a victory dance which is what it was all about in the first place. Allowing competition in 3.5 % of the dairy industry is no big deal. Turdo is safe in Quebec. He will cautiously claim victory too so as to not irritate the Trumpet.

Fake News everywhere on MSM about the duty free limit.
Before the USMCA most items entered Canada with no to little duty. The charges on the border was principally to customs brokerage charges towards handling the administration. So after removing the first $150,. HST still needs to be collected by someone….the couriers. Essentially no changes!!!
What Canada retained was to collect taxes. In the USA, Canada can ship orders up to $800 USD and the recipient does not pay taxes to the USA government nor and administrative charges. What would have benefited consumers was the complete elimination of taxes of any kind on goods entering Canada uo to at least $150. This is NOT what we got. Don’t get fooled. No wonder the retail trade in Canada was elated at the outcome because they know Lighthizer was hoodwinked.

The dairy quota system, while well intended, has like all government policies designed to “help”, morphed into an unwieldy monster that is now the major cost of dairy operations. Originally designed to protect small dairy farmers at essentially no cost, it eventually lead to consolidation in the industry and impossible barriers to entry. Unfortunately there is really no way back from this mess but for the government to buy back all the quota or somehow otherwise remedy the situation. So Turduea had no choice but to throw the Don a bone and open up 3.5% of the dairy market to trade, but that’s a small price to pay to save the auto industry. However my guess is that when we see the details, the percentage will gradually go up. Perhaps this is envisioned as giving dairy farmers time to adjust and not have the price of their quota collapse over night, but I don’t think it’ll work. If anything it will just prolong the agony.

The government should have never formulated the quota system in the first place. But having already made that mistake they never should have allowed the price of a fictitious restriction to rise to such obscene levels. More quota should have been auctioned off to keep the price reasonable. $30,000 for permission to milk one cow in Alberta is just insane. The path down from here is going to be extremely painful for the dairy industry, especially for any farmers that purchased at these levels.

Even for farmers who didn’t buy at these levels, many will see their retirement plans squashed like a bug. For many small dairy farmers, selling the quota when they retire has become THE retirement plan. It’s also extremely difficult to pass the quota on to your children because it’s worth so much money, the tax implications are huge. Although that is rare anyway, not that many children want to commit to the dairy lifestyle. Up and milking at 6 am, not done working until after the second milk at 6 pm, no days off. Plus if you want to get married your spouse has to buy into the lifestyle too. This and the cost of quota is what’s driving the consolidation into larger and larger operations that can both afford the quota and hire staff along more regular 40 hour work weeks.

This whole fiasco is just more evidence that whenever the government gets involved to supposedly “fix” something with a new law, the result is usually a disaster. We’ve seen this enough times that people, including politicians, should know this.

All the quota system did was raise the price of dairy for Canadian consumers and force consolidation of the very small farms it was meant to protect. All prohibition did was increase crime and entrench the mafia. All tariffs do is raise consumer prices and enrich unions. All taxi licencing does is something similar to what happened with dairy quotas. Any attempt to “fix” the free market ends in disaster. You can add the “war on drugs” to this too. It should be called the “war on some drugs” and one wonders why so many people were put in jail for smoking a weed that grows naturally, but fentanyl is ok, even though it kills way more people. Difference is fentanyl gets taxed. That’s what the legalization of marijuana is really all about, bringing it out of the black market and subjecting it to taxation. People are smoking it anyway so why not?

By the way, if there is a “trade agreement”, whether the title has the word “free” in it or not, there is not “free trade”. All “free trade agreements” should be called “limited trade agreements”. When trade is “free”, you don’t need an agreement. What a “free trade agreement” does is specify the terms of trade, and it’s always a lot more complicated than “free trade” would be. For a model of what “free trade” would look like, it would be better to look at how trade works between the states or indeed the provinces. There are virtually no tariffs as goods move between provinces within Canada or states within the US. There are no quotas either. In the US that is particularly striking because as powerful as the US federal government is, the states have more autonomy than a Canadian province does. They even maintain their own militias.

I have, after much consideration, decided to draft the ultimate free trade agreement that any 2 countries can use to establish a better trading environment:

Article 1) There shall be no tariff or quota placed on any goods or services transacted between our countries.

Article 2) There will be no subsidies or any other assistance given to companies, farmers, individuals, or any other entity to enhance their competitive position in international trade between our countries.

That’s all you need to have the perfect free trade agreement. Unfortunately such an agreement cannot be implemented without much disruption unless the countries involved are essentially equals when it comes to things like wages, taxes, legal environment, social assistance, education, etc. A true “free trade agreement” with Mexico would drive the minimum wage in the US and Canada down to $3/hour. Thus, there will never be anything resembling a true “free trade agreement” until economic conditions in Mexico are similar to what they are in the US and Canada. A true “free trade agreement” would see all labor intensive industries move to Mexico, including the Canadian auto industry.

In terms of “free”, this new agreement specifically limits how many cars can be built in Canada and Mexico. That’s not very free at all. But it is a big win for Canada because if there wasn’t a limit on Mexican cars the Canadian auto industry would not survive. But it’s not “free trade”. It’s “limited trade”.

But I wonder how much we’d really miss the Canadian auto industry? Sure there might be 100,000 job losses, but Alberta lost that many jobs and more just due to oil prices and all people east did was laugh and say “Justice! And no we aren’t reviewing the transfer payments you still have to pay.” The fact is they don’t “build” cars in Ontario, they “assemble” cars designed and built in the US, Asia and Mexico. They still build the bodies, but the engine and all the other parts come in a shipping container. There are no Canadian auto companies, not even one. The auto-pact was protectionism from day one. Without it, there would be no Canadian auto assembly industry.

My BIL works at Canada’s largest dairy company and he says that they are licking their chops at getting the border restrictions lifted because Saputo has many US dairies and they are waiting to start shipping products north to Canada. They will benefit from this he says – even though many people think “oh, poor Saputo the Canadian company going to get squished out”. Absolutely not he says.

#16 Smartalox on 10.01.18 at 5:27 pm
The Canadian dairy industry can make up what it has lost through a variety of means: branding, selling up-market, and into niche markets, selling internationally. There’s a lot of opportunity out there for those that are willing to take it.
—————————————————————
Right, and they are… The branding has been stepped up throughout the year for anyone paying attention for instance. Its doesn’t hurt consumers for the local dairy industry to be on their toes and if you don’t like the American milk then don’t buy it and we can watch their hubris rot in the dairy aisle… Canadian dairy is going to ask for gov bailouts and will get them, its how rural PQ and ON and to the east and west vote works…

Funny how all of the Liberal haters of the past months decrying ‘sock boy’ and ‘man child’ for being out of his league and slamming Freeland for being a woman and crying, while hysterically screaming ‘we’re pooched’, ‘Canada’s going down the drain,’ ‘Trump is going to crush us,’ etc, etc are so quiet.

I guess they can’t stomach the fact that Freeland, who is highly skilled and was the biggest and most perceptive intellect in the room, and her negotiators, played this cool with a steel resolve and made a deal that gave almost nothing to the US of consequence and saved the most important clauses including dispute resolution all while letting Trump do a victory lap. They got him to show his hand last week and played to his ego for the big win.

I’m no Liberal supporter but well played Freeland and Trudeau, well played.

If you think the minister was pivotal to negotiations it proves you have not been in federal politics. This was done 100% at the sub-ministerial level. – Garth

“By the way, on election day in 1988 the five-year mortgage rate was 12%.” – Garth

—————————————————–

Exactly! Today’s rates are very, very low in comparison. And even if the do rise somewhat, it’s no big deal compared to 12%. Continued low rates, new USMCA deal, high employment levels and high immigration levels means continued high (and higher) housing values in the GTA.

Sorry, it does not work that way. Given current valuations, the market cannot stand a 2% rate hike without correcting. – Garth

#26 Tim on 10.01.18 at 5:50 pm
I was expecting the Canadian equity markets to do a lot better today.
—————————————————————
Or it was mostly priced in / didn’t war game out as a major chance of failure in the grand scheme of things – consumer debt likely weighing more and future interest rate hikes from BoC being dragged along by Fed and booming US economy …

Very nice Garth.
Your recollection of past torture in the trade talks……you went through so many years ago….gives you a very detailed reliable experience.

Also good to hear your perspective on this new arrangement with Mexico and the American people…without some very tribal political statements…which I am sure some of the “ranting commentators “…will feel obligated for some tribal commitment…to some unfounded team they belong to in their simple minds….will address.

This is one time we need to agree….so it’s over and now let’s get on with it…the storm of threat after threat by an accused sexual assaulter in the White House….who will now again focus on how to save his and his family’s wealth…before a major change happens to his luck so far.

Yes white collar crime takes a long time to be proven….even in the White House.

He may try to take over the FBI….but there is a greater cause to the American Constitution….by FBI agents.

The Republican Party has the Trump albatross….and are just hoping to lose control of the Congress…..so that the Democrats can remove their Albatross…and Pence can move in.

If Trumps friends and lawyers and accountants for many years can abandon Donald…so too can his relatively newly founded friends in the Republican Party….Remember Donald was a Democrat before his racist attitudes surfaced again……..when Obama became President.

There is already one here, down in the basement. Its where all the gold bugs and bitcoin guys are now.

all you NAFTA Doomers best get down there and stake out your space soon…before the real estate pumpers get there.

Quote: Somatic cell counts greater than a million per teaspoon are abnormal and “almost always” caused by mastitis. When a cow is infected, greater than 90% of the somatic cells in her milk are neutrophils, the inflammatory immune cells that form pus. The average somatic cell count in U.S. milk per spoonful is 1,120,000. Sep 8, 2011 :End Quote

Let’s talk about what’s not in the USMCA – the virtue signalling BS that Trudeau had pushed for. In the environmental section, there is no mention of “climate change” and only one of carbon – stating that the trees will take care of changes in carbon level.

That’s good Mike,the more of these ones you chip in with in, allows me to spend more time reporting recent sales and doing confirmations.

This is step one,locating the property.

Step two,tracking their decisions,this can take years!

Step three,report the sale if ever made.

Step four wait a few months,sometimes longer until the bc assessment database is updated and report as confirmed.This step is necessary as deals get broken,things get changed, etc.

I have some history in this area with a couple of previous cases and I’m pretty sure a half-decent loss, but I would have to verify that when I visit the confirmed folder next time.Most likely relevant if these guys take a loss.

“I wasn’t worth a cent two years ago, and now I owe two million dollars.” from The Gilded Age by Mark Twain 1873. This is The Gilded Age Part 2 and it’s only reasonable that President Trump usher it in stamping the USMCA today to start the celebration.

Good ole Brian! My favorite PM of all time! Too bad about the paper bag stuffed with cash and all, such a shame. Otherwise who could argue he and finance guy Wilson were way ahead of their time. It’s been 40 years later and their policies are still intact.

@#56 Longterm
“I guess they can’t stomach the fact that Freeland, who is highly skilled and was the biggest and most perceptive intellect in the room…”
+++++

My god , do you really believe the naive drivel you spew.

Wine and Milk producers are already screaming about this deal…..

Lets see how “brilliant” Freeland looks when Trump drops another tariff on whatever he wishes and it takes years to have it rescinded through an international trade Court a la the endless Softwood Trade agreement Court judgements Canada continuously wins and then has to fight again and again and again as the US hits us with another softwood trade tariff…….

The only thing more nauseating than Trudeau breathlessly ‘splainin’ the “benefits” (as if ANY leader would admit we were schooled) of this agreement was Freelands smug grin…..

“T2 should get some credit here. It basically came down to the auto sector VS the dairy farmers and he made the right choice.” MF. Post #21
Maybe. However, this person makes a very convincing argument for electric self driving vehicles, owned by fleets and not individuals, becoming a significant disruptive convergence of technologies over the next few years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox5LtxqQNHw

When I saw the notification on my phone this morning… “Loonie SOARS on new trade agreement” – I was deeply concerned for my heavy USD portfolio.

Wow. 78 whole cents.

I thought soaring would be getting us back to somewhere near parity, apparently it means a 2c increase. Who knew?
Selfie Boy and his brigade of incompetents will no doubt screw something else up and erase that gain by month’s end.

Looks like I’ll be riding it out. Ditch the USD some time between the midterms and the election of PM Scheer, when the CAD will finally be primed to make some advances.

@#53 westcoaster
““oh, poor Saputo the Canadian company going to get squished out”.”
+++++

Saputo is actually an Italian multinational that almost went bankrupt a few years ago when they consolidated the purchase of dairy companies worldwide.
Saputo doesnt care if they sell Canadian or American milk…..either way…..they profit….. :)

Lets see how long unionized Canadian dairies last in this “new world order”.
One wonders if Freeland will be so smug when Canadian milk is shipped south to US plants to be mixed with US milk and then shipped back north………

Exactly! Today’s rates are very, very low in comparison. And even if the do rise somewhat, it’s no big deal compared to 12%. Continued low rates, new USMCA deal, high employment levels and high immigration levels means continued high (and higher) housing values in the GTA.

Sorry, it does not work that way. Given current valuations, the market cannot stand a 2% rate hike without correcting. – Garth
…………………………………..

Joint ownership of real estate. High housing values will continue. A fact of life in much of the rest of the world. It will happen here too. Already seen it in the LM.

Word on the street is the Trumpster got his a$$ handed to him by some very wealthy and influential people who were not amused by what his game playing and make believe dictator of the free world little boy games were about to do to their bottom lines.

Yeah the FBI can do their middle class salary earning best to rock the Trump boat but there’s some bigger waves in the Ocean and Trumpety do dah just dodged a tsunami.

“The GOP claim that there’s no corroboration of Dr. Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her is a lie. Corroborating evidence—evidence that tends to support a proposition—already exists. I’ll detail as much of it as I can. ”

Very interesting twitter thread from Seth Abramson linked to below. Click on “read more replies” when it looks like you are at the end of his numbered list, to read all 100 insightful comments detailing how there is plenty of corroborating evidence of Dr. Ford’s accusations.

#83 FOUR FINGERS WATSON on 10.01.18 at 9:52 pm
Exactly! Today’s rates are very, very low in comparison. And even if the do rise somewhat, it’s no big deal compared to 12%. Continued low rates, new USMCA deal, high employment levels and high immigration levels means continued high (and higher) housing values in the GTA.

Sorry, it does not work that way. Given current valuations, the market cannot stand a 2% rate hike without correcting. – Garth
…………………………………..

Joint ownership of real estate. High housing values will continue. A fact of life in much of the rest of the world. It will happen here too. Already seen it in the LM.
….

Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Helocks are out of control. It’s one thing to finance 800k at 3% different animal at 5% or 6%
No wage growth prospects, flooding the low end labour market with refuges, and the IT sector with TFW. Factor all that in, not to mention boomers whos entire wealth tied up in a house all heading for exits at the same time.
Could get very ugly for leveraged home owners.

100/ Never forget that McConnell *told* Trump *not* to nominate Kavanaugh—he *told* Trump Kavanaugh would have trouble. Trump nominated him *anyway* because Kavanaugh was the one nominee who opposed presidents getting investigated. And *that’s* what this is about—in the end. /end

” There is also language in the deal that requires any of the three partners to notify the others when they start or finish trade agreement talks with a non-market economy — like China — and gives the other partners a say in the text of that deal……”

In simple terms.
We have to inform the US if we are negotiating with anyone other than Mexico.
We have to show the US the terms of the negotiation.
The US can veto the terms…….

The US is the land of the Free
Canada is Freelandia

P.S.

Anyone notice there was no mention from “Selfie” and “Smug” of Gender equality, sexual orientation and all that other non trade related politically correct pablum bafflegab when they were touting their own brilliance?

Garth, for those of us that were there during your political years gets it! Perhaps this is why you have so many followers overall including the commentators. Many of us respect what you have done in the past.

Not the best deal today but at least it is a deal that the Canadian economy can withstand, not a T2 supporter but I have to give credit where credit is due that they saw the big pic. Half a billion of us in North America have to stick together to make this work!

#88 Blackdog on 10.01.18 at 10:10 pm sez:
“The GOP claim that there’s no corroboration of Dr. Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her is a lie. Corroborating evidence—evidence that tends to support a proposition—already exists. I’ll detail as much of it as I can.

Very interesting twitter thread from Seth Abramson linked to below. Click on “read more replies” when it looks like you are at the end of his numbered list, to read all 100 insightful comments detailing how there is plenty of corroborating evidence of Dr. Ford’s accusations.

#16 Smartalox on 10.01.18 at 5:27 pm
“[U.S.] dairy industry access up to 3.6% (from currently 3.25%).” As I understand it, the 3.25% is how much of the Canadian market the U.S. dairy industry would have had access to under TPP (but not as it currently stands). BTW, we lost Chapter 11 of NAFTA—so Canada can no longer be sued by foreign companies.

Those were not just comments on twitter from some ignoramus, such as yourself. Did you even read the bio of the author or the comments themselves? Thought not.

You know, someone suggested to me the other day, and I agree, that men who protest too much that Kavanaugh is being hard done by, might have skeletons in their own closet they’d rather not have to think too hard about

Regarding what you describe as my ‘obsession with Trump’? I made maybe half a dozen comments tops ever on this blog relating to Trump. That qualifies as an obsession in your books? No wonder you can’t actually read the twitter thread and then make an intelligent comment about it.

#89 Smoking Man on 10.01.18 at 10:10 pm
#83 FOUR FINGERS WATSON on 10.01.18 at 9:52 pm
Exactly! Today’s rates are very, very low in comparison. And even if the do rise somewhat, it’s no big deal compared to 12%. Continued low rates, new USMCA deal, high employment levels and high immigration levels means continued high (and higher) housing values in the GTA.

Sorry, it does not work that way. Given current valuations, the market cannot stand a 2% rate hike without correcting. – Garth
…………………………………..

Joint ownership of real estate. High housing values will continue. A fact of life in much of the rest of the world. It will happen here too. Already seen it in the LM.
….

Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Helocks are out of control. It’s one thing to finance 800k at 3% different animal at 5% or 6%
No wage growth prospects, flooding the low end labour market with refuges, and the IT sector with TFW. Factor all that in, not to mention boomers whos entire wealth tied up in a house all heading for exits at the same time.
Could get very ugly for leveraged home owners.
………………………………….

It has been happening in the LM for decades. Two or more immigrant families in one home. It is how they live in the old country, no problem living like that in the new country. It is happening in Kelowna too. And it is quite common in the rest of the world.

Trudeau’s claim of victory in trade deal is hollow – Canada was played

Donald Trump used what he called “the power of tariffs” to bully his trading partners into capitulation. He made clear his intent to pull investment back into the U.S. and, despite his eccentricities, has managed to do exactly that.

“In the legal context, here is my bottom line: A “he said, she said” case is incredibly difficult to prove. But this case is even weaker than that. Dr. Ford identified other witnesses to the event, and those witnesses either refuted her allegations or failed to corroborate them. For the reasons discussed below, I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence before the Committee. “

Miramar California, Airshow this past weekend, the best of the best sky pilot around. Beast marines with huge mussels and gigantic nuts. They were embracing old white guys sporting MAGA caps. Many were veterans with missing limbs scars and repaired bullet holes, the tattoo could not be saved.
Now Antifa, those basement dwelling malcontents who the teachers stole their minds think they are badass. Soros gives them risk free Starbucks gift cards, and they will go to the mat for this X admitted confiscator of German Jew property in WW2. A committed Davos globalist that, every CEO of major corps fear.
Kids, I don’t know what you envious, jealous teachers put into your heads, they never knocked a door, or killed a bad guy, or taken a risk to put food on the table for there families. These little cowards live in a safe space to project their failures on to you and hope you got there back.

I can assure you from what I witnessed at Top Gun, in Miramar, if you decide to hit the streets with your moral indignation toward Trump.

It’s not going to end well for you. Read Art of War by San Tuz, and while you are there, Deplorables by The Great Dyslexic Smoking Man. Know your enemy.

So this is who we have running for mayor of Richmond.
Unbelievable.
Ms. Hong Guo insists that she asks all her lender clients where they get their money from – and that she takes what they say at face value: “We are not the police and we are not FinTRAC and we have no way of doing an investigation. We ask, ‘What is the source of the funds?’ and normally they say that is their savings.”
It would be impossible for the shady operators to obtain their stakes in millions of dollars’ worth of real estate if it weren’t for Canadian lawyers willing to give them an air of legitimacy, by writing up mortgage agreements and filing lawsuits on their behalf. Several experts suggested to The Globe that serious questions should be raised about solicitors who engage in these transactions.
Lawyer Hong Guo drew up the paperwork that paved the way for Ms. Xiang to sign over her property. Perhaps more disturbingly, land-titles records show that she has facilitated numerous deals for Mr. Jin and at least one other lender with possible connections to drug crime. The rules of the Law Society of British Columbia stipulate that any member who “knows or ought to know” that they would be assisting in illegal activity must drop the client involved.
Lawyer Hong Guo says” “I am the biggest Chinese lawyer in the Chinese community. We do 600 million [dollars] a year in transactions. Maybe that is why we are a target for criminal activities. They know we are doing lots of work.”
You have to read this to see wtf is happening in BC…https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/investigations/real-estate-money-laundering-and-drugs/article38004840/
Thanks yugely to Kathy Tomlinson who got the lowdown on this.
Ms. Guo is also involved in a $7.5 million lawsuit of missing clients’ funds.
If she gets elected it’s all over for BC.
Also former casino executive shouldn’t be chairing Justice Institute: watchdoghttps://bc.ctvnews.ca/former-casino-executive-shouldn-t-be-chairing-justice-institute-watchdog-1.4116964
This guy gets the Chair post at the Justice Institute AFTER all this info on the River Rock Casino is divulged. Only in BC, the land of beggars, tramps and triads….
This is what you have coming for you in Ontari-owe, uppa uppa uppa she goes….
Make Great Canadian Casino Great again. MGCCGA……

Why are we, in the comments section (Garth is wise and avoided the conversation as I expect he will continue to do so), talking about Kavanaugh?

In modern law, one is innocent until proven guilty. There is at this point no case against Kavanaugh. One person’s testimony from 36 years ago where she cannot remember any details except one person’s identity is not proof. “We must believe her!” is the rallying cry. But anybody who has spent any time with women knows they lie. They can’t fight, so they lie. I’m not saying all women lie, same as not all men fight, but anybody who thinks women are incapable of lying is a fool, plain and simple. Ford has no witnesses at a party! Who could believe that? And the best charge that could be made is “groping” even if it did happen. “A 17 year old boy groped me I think somewhere I don’t remember when or where but I certainly remember who when I was 15 years old and drinking at a party”. That is no facking charge.

This is just disastrous politics.

Believe her? Anyone who has been through a divorce knows a lot better. Women lie all the time. And they will do so in their dispositions and under oath. Not outright, but something like sharing a bottle of wine with them makes you an out of control drunk, even if they drank most of the bottle.

Veerry interesting….
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference on Sunday, Mrs May announced plans for buyers of UK property who do not pay tax in Britain to be subject to a new stamp duty surcharge of up to 3 per cent, with the proceeds going towards a scheme for tackling rough sleeping. The proposed tax would be levied on both individuals and companies.

While London house prices have been falling this year, they have risen at a rapid clip in recent years. The high number of luxury housing developments and of homes bought as investments that stand empty, particularly in the capital but also elsewhere in the country, have prompted calls for the government to tackle what is seen as a UK-wide housing crisis and build more affordable housing to accommodate the rising population.

Mrs May said there was evidence that foreign buyers who do not pay UK taxes had helped push up prices and reduce the rate of home ownership in the UK. When she became prime minister in 2016, she made solving Britain’s housing crisis a priority.

This is a position for life, not a matter of guilt or innocence. Waiting a few months to fully vet and investigate the guy would be reasonable.

Truth is though that he’s wildly partisan and completely unsuitable as a candidate for the court. He’s admitted it himself. The only reason this is being rushed is because the party in power is concerned that they will not be able to appoint anyone to the position after the midterms.

If he fills the seat, it’s hard to imagine what kind of precedent setting rulings will be overturned. Civil liberties themselves will be in jeopardy… Roe v. Wade is just one example and this voting block will be in place for at least the next 20 years or so.

Digging up every bit of his character, past rulings and personal life is fair game. When all that is laid bare and politicians continue to support him, they’ll need to answer to their conscience and their constituents as to why they preferred him over all the other possibilities.

Possibly one of the most important appointments in our lifetime, and we don’t even live in the country.

Miramar California, Airshow this past weekend, the best of the best sky pilot around. Beast marines with huge mussels and gigantic nuts. They were embracing old white guys sporting MAGA caps. Many were veterans with missing limbs scars and repaired bullet holes, the tattoo could not be saved.
Now Antifa, those basement dwelling malcontents who the teachers stole their minds think they are badass. Soros gives them risk free Starbucks gift cards, and they will go to the mat for this X admitted confiscator of German Jew property in WW2. A committed Davos globalist that, every CEO of major corps fear.
Kids, I don’t know what you envious, jealous teachers put into your heads, they never knocked a door, or killed a bad guy, or taken a risk to put food on the table for there families. These little cowards live in a safe space to project their failures on to you and hope you got there back.

I can assure you from what I witnessed at Top Gun, in Miramar, if you decide to hit the streets with your moral indignation toward Trump.

It’s not going to end well for you. Read Art of War by San Tuz, and while you are there, Deplorables by The Great Dyslexic Smoking Man. Know your enemy.

#MAGA
—————————————————————-
Soros was 9 years old when the war started you booze addled putz. Try thinking for just a minute before you post your nonsense.

And just because you’ve stood next to military folks, doesn’t make you tough. You’re an IT flunky. And abject nobody who can’t even drink himself to death.

#92 Steven Rowlandson on 10.01.18 at 10:24 pm
Garth are you saying that the civil service especially senior members have considerably more power or authorship when it comes to policy, deal making and legislation than members of parliament?
————————————————————–
What I’m hearing he is saying that the heavy lifting including negotiation and agreement on nitty gritty down in the weeds details that make a deal like this come together and work is done by the subject matter expert bureaucrats under policy direction of ministers, their deputy ministers etc… Then the elected politicians are the face of it to agree, close and shake hands…

” Garth are you saying that the civil service especially senior members have considerably more power or authorship when it comes to policy, deal making and legislation than members of parliament?”

As someone who spent half of a working career in the bowels of our government – of course the underlings do the lions share of the work.

Does Musk design and produce all of Tesla products? Does Johnny Depp do all of the Jack Sparrow movies with a Go-Pro?

The Minister has a “job”, the people who report to the minister have “jobs”, and, surprisingly, it all works well almost all of the time – one reads only about the mis-steps. Nothing is 100.0% reliable, not even a Tesla!

@#56 Longterm
“I guess they can’t stomach the fact that Freeland, who is highly skilled and was the biggest and most perceptive intellect in the room…”
+++++

My god , do you really believe the naive drivel you spew.

Wine and Milk producers are already screaming about this deal…..

Lets see how “brilliant” Freeland looks when Trump drops another tariff on whatever he wishes and it takes years to have it rescinded through an international trade Court a la the endless Softwood Trade agreement Court judgements Canada continuously wins and then has to fight again and again and again as the US hits us with another softwood trade tariff…….

The only thing more nauseating than Trudeau breathlessly ‘splainin’ the “benefits” (as if ANY leader would admit we were schooled) of this agreement was Freelands smug grin…..

CAQ WIN in Quebec !

———————————————

W(h)ine and Milk would be a good name for a Freeland/Trudeau musical duo.

So Quebec just voted in a government that cannot be boxed. Never has there been an odder group of left right and center policies all mixed into the same platform.

The French do things their own way.

Bravo

——————————————

Not to mention kinda-but-not-too-federalist and sympathetic-to-but-not-in-favour-of-separatist at the same time.

On the whole, I greet the CAQ win with optimism. The leader seems, at face value, genuinely interested in turning Quebec from a net drain on confederation to a net contributor (or at least, less of a drain than currently).

#119 Stan Brooks for PM on 10.02.18 at 8:22 am
The big problem with USMCA is that it can’t be pronounced like a word. NAFTA could. They should rename it CAMUS. Herrs Trump and Trudeau are you reading this?
————————————————————-
Answer to 2nd question: No

Answer to 1st question: A-M-E-R-I-C-A 1ST!!!!!!

Calling it North America Free Trade is so globalist don’t you know? North American? Globalist! Free trade? Globalist! Its an agreement see, an America 1st agreement you see? Then came Mexico. Canada was last so they go to the back of the name, not the front like they were first, gee-whiz buddy don’t ya go all joe college on us trying to make sense with a easy flowing set of letters. #MAGA

Garth, at least tell us not to look for you in the BM pic,(no not bowel movement but BM for Brian Mulroney). At least show a picture of you in it too to make it worth looking at
——————————————————————–

Look closer. That IS Garth. The handsome bearded dude with the long flowing hair, standing just to the right of the cop!

Garth, Canada didnt get torched by Trump but neither did we get a great deal either. The reason for that is all on trudeau. Instead of spending an entire yr grandstanding he could have got the deal first with the new president and beat everyone to the punch. Thats failure of leadership.

Secondly, canada will not solve its demographics problem with immigration. Its impossible. Until we put some real policies in to promote more internal growth, our aging future is a lock. If you want people to have kids, then pay them to have a 3rd kid. We spend money on stupid other things. Give families a $50k baby bonus for their 3rd kid or something.

While many immigrants do well here, many face real problems when they get here. The cost of living, low skillsets, little time or money to upgrade. Even if those first families have more kids than the avergage canadian, their offpring will fall right back into the 1.8 child trend. Its a temporary bump if that. Our population problems have an economic root in inflation.

#116 Tater
Soros was 9 years old when the war started you booze addled putz. Try thinking for just a minute before you post your nonsense.
And just because you’ve stood next to military folks, doesn’t make you tough. You’re an IT flunky. And abject nobody who can’t even drink himself to death.
*******************************************

Ouch! That’s a bit severe.

Best not to argue with an fool. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Where did you see two questions in my post cowboy? Ah yes, another America is great poster boy. I just laugh when I hear this. America is great for the top 1% I will grant that. You have 40 million Americans living in 3rd world conditions and 2/3 of your population can’t afford a $1000 emergency hospital visit or a $500 car repair. America is great for them? Must be great living in a country where a serious illness spells financial disaster and bankruptcy. An America that had university tuition rates multiple times those of Canadian and 100% more than countries like Germany….

You do realize this guy has been vetted by the FBI 6 times already? You think he gets to be a judge on the 2nd highest court without being looked into?

This is the exact same stunt the D’s pulled with Roy Moore. Choir boy Obama admits to cocaine use yet you liberal jokers wanna whine about beer?

What civil liberties are at stake? Please give me an example.

Kavanaugh on Roe V Wade:
“is an important precedent to the Supreme Court. It’s been reaffirmed many times. It was reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992 when the court specifically considered whether to reaffirm it or whether to overturn it. …That makes Casey precedent on precedent.”

So there ya go Mike, you libs can keep killing your babies, what else you worried about?

You annoying lefties get daily talking point memos and repeat them ad nauseam.

@112 MikeInToronto re: ” Digging up every bit of his character, past rulings and personal life is fair game. When all that is laid bare and politicians continue to support him, they’ll need to answer to their conscience and their constituents as to why they preferred him over all the other possibilities.

Possibly one of the most important appointments in our lifetime, and we don’t even live in the country.”

Right on. This is not a court proceeding. It is a job interview, as Seth Abramson reminds us in that awesome twitter post of 100 points, where he outlines a whole lot of corroborating evidence in favour of Dr. Ford’s testimony, along with the lies, belligerence, and obfuscations in Kavanaugh’s testimony.

The main point being: if there is reasonable doubt as to the suitability of Kavanagh FOR THE JOB ( A REALLY IMPORTANT JOB THAT AFFECTS MILLIONS), then based on his testimony contrasted to hers (and other history) he should be disqualified from that opportunity. We’re not sending him to jail here, BYTOR. We don’t need a video recording of the assault, to have reasonable doubt as to his suitability for this most important role. I’m sure he’ll survive if he does not get a lifetime position in the USA’s top court.

Secondly, canada will not solve its demographics problem with immigration. Its impossible. Until we put some real policies in to promote more internal growth, our aging future is a lock. If you want people to have kids, then pay them to have a 3rd kid. We spend money on stupid other things. Give families a $50k baby bonus for their 3rd kid or something.

While many immigrants do well here, many face real problems when they get here. The cost of living, low skillsets, little time or money to upgrade. Even if those first families have more kids than the avergage canadian, their offpring will fall right back into the 1.8 child trend. Its a temporary bump if that. Our population problems have an economic root in inflation.
______

Even immigrants themselves who marry here do like us and have 0-2 kids. Said kids will be fully Westernized and may want to have fun instead of working to raise a family.

The problem with paying folks to have kids is it only works on a small fraction of the population – far too few to boost the numbers.

The issue here is that for people to desire a family, it has to be culturally valued, thereby raising the value of the family unit over that of the lone individual/childless couple. Some degree of national pride and unity would be required. Optimism for the future would need to be an enduring sentiment among the Citizenry. Feminism would have to start teaching Women raise children instead of killing them, and self-sacrifice rather than self-gratification. Family court and Divorce Law would need a complete and major overhaul. Socially, individualistic pursuits would need to be toned way back, and the value of hard work and sacrifice pushed by governments.

I almost started laughing while typing that.

Immigration is our only hope, nothing else really has a chance or history of working. The floodgates will eventually have to be opened. Canada has an emigration rate 5X higher than the USA, and up to 40% of all immigrants leave Canada within 10 years. It ain’t going to be easy to change either of those numbers going forward. We’re going to have to pile ’em in here like gangbusters just to keep a sideways line.

There will eventually be a conveyor belt of folks shuffling into our big cities, and then back out. All we can do is hope the government peels them like a banana before they can escape to the US (or back home) so we can all still get our CPP cheques.

#98 Blackdog on 10.01.18 at 11:28 pm sez, in part:
“@Bytor, you come off as such a neanderthal….lol. (S1)

Those were not just comments on twitter from some ignoramus, such as yourself. Did you even read the bio of the author or the comments themselves? Thought not. (P2)

You know, someone suggested to me the other day, and I agree, that men who protest too much that Kavanaugh is being hard done by, might have skeletons in their own closet they’d rather not have to think too hard about.”(P3)
——————————————————

Paragraph 2) Don’t care about his alleged “credentials”. I care that he has no evidence. Only conjecture and heresay.

Sentence 1) and Paragraph 3) Of course, as women are wont to do, when they have nothing they resort to shaming. No dear, I don’t have any skeletons in my closet. But as a man I’m damn sure worried someone could make one up, just as we’re seeing with Kavanaugh.

No dear, I’m worried about much bigger things like due process of law, and men’s families and careers being destroyed when they’ve done nothing wrong. You know, sorta like “Accidental Americans” lives are being destroyed as outlined on Brock.

One more thing. As I’ve stated before, women are ok with with this because they aren’t coming for them…. until they do.

No Mike, this is a put up job by the Democrats to stall the nomination until after the mid terms because it’ll tip the balance of the Supreme Court. If this tactic is allowed to proceed it will encourage more of this nonsense behavior.

They have until Friday to find something. If they don’t, Kavanaugh should be confirmed.

#110 Nonplused on 10.02.18 at 3:50 am
Why are we, in the comments section (Garth is wise and avoided the conversation as I expect he will continue to do so), talking about Kavanaugh?
_____

It’s really too bad that the metoo movement which held so much potential for so many legit victims at one time has now been usurped by Western Politicians as a weapon of war.

Women the world over should be screaming bloody murder every time a 30 year old metoo allegation surfaces just before a political election or appointment. They know what it it looks like when it keeps happening over and over and over again right?

Metoo is likely done like dinner. A couple more “surprise” allegations just before an election is all it’s going to take before even the most sparing users of logic decide to scroll.

#119 Stan Brooks for PM on 10.02.18 at 8:22 amThe big problem with USMCA is that it can’t be pronounced like a word. NAFTA could. They should rename it CAMUS.
*****************************
After yelling “America First” 1,000 times in the last 2 years I bet that the “US” being first in the name was more important to Trump than any other provisions in the agreement.
We should have named it TRUMPISTHEGREATEST, and we probably would have gotten the steel tariffs lifted.

Ouch, that hurts, almost as much as when Garth accused me of being a realtor(tm) awhile back.

Sorry to interrupt mid-rebuke (though largely excellent points) but am neither an American nor Trump supporter nor even a want-a-be supporter – its called sarcasm dude – unfortunately its a victim of our times along with irony and satire.

Though think about it and tell me this isn’t as plausible an explanation as any for Trump’s sad attempt at branding with a mouth full of letters that don’t naturally run together to a speaker with any command of language…

Garth , both you and one of your colleagues recently indicated that you would expect the TSX to surge ( RYAN said up to 10%) if we get a new trade agreement with the United States and I also thought the same . Dow is up 360 pts so far since the NAFTA 2 agreement and the TSX is down 50 , Canada on a whole not pleased with the agreement thus far?

Already in the US on a TN-1. I was considering switching to EB2 or O-series track. Now I don’t think I’ll bother unless something changes.

=========================

Good luck with your O visa. Unless you have a Ph.D in very demanding field or are a well-known pop star, O visa is very hard to obtain. If you are in US with TN, you probably don’t qualify for O-visa. TN1 is nice but your stay in US is very temporary and there are too much limitations. Good luck. I mean it.

“Though think about it and tell me this isn’t as plausible an explanation as any for Trump’s sad attempt at branding with a mouth full of letters that don’t naturally run together to a speaker with any command of language…”

It is a spot on explanation and sorry for being so rough on you and missing your sarcasm. My bad!

I’ve seen you cite this a few times. Where did you get this statistic?

All I see are population increases.

And btw, the reason the US may have a lower immigration rate is because they have a huge undocumented illegal crisis. We don’t.

MF
__________

“Wendy Cukier, founder, Diversity Institute in Management and Technology at Ryerson University, in a presentation, cites a study (Watt et al.,2008) that shows that 40 per cent of immigrants who entered Canada in the skilled worker or business class left Canada within their first 10 years.”

Current Stats Canada numbers say 35% bail within 20 years. 60% of these are gone within the first year.

When I said “Canada has an emigration rate 5X higher than the USA” – that means as a percentage of our population – 500% more people **leave** (emigrate) Canada to live elsewhere than they do in the USA.

Population increases are happening now, but they will get tougher as less want to try Canada in the first place, more decide to leave, and as our ever dropping fertility rates hit rock bottom.

#155 jojo on 10.02.18 at 3:58 pm
[…] T[rump’s] IQ [is] 156![…] Did you even read the article that you attached as a link to your comment? The Snopes fact-checking Web site you’ve cited states that the high-IQ claim is false. Go back and reread the article, you doofus! :)

Garth’s Instagram Posts

The views expressed are those of the author, Garth Turner, a Raymond James Financial Advisor, and not necessarily those of Raymond James Ltd. It is provided as a general source of information only and should not be considered to be personal investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. Investors considering any investment should consult with their Investment Advisor to ensure that it is suitable for the investor's circumstances and risk tolerance before making any investment decision. The information contained in this blog was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, however, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete. Raymond James Ltd. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.